Lava Engulfs Car in Footage From Hawaii

(Newser)
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Lava continues to flow on Hawaii's Big Island after the eruption of the Kilauea volcano, destroying dozens of homes so far. A new video shows how terrifying it can be, albeit very slowly terrifying (an expert told the Los Angeles Times over the weekend that lava was flowing away from one fissure at "significantly less" than 1mph). The video, shot by Mississippi natural disaster chaser Brandon Clement on Sunday, shows lava slowly crossing a road in the Leilani Estates community and then engulfing a Ford Mustang on the other side. "It looked like the movie [The] Blob, but on fire," he tells CNN.

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He watched the lava build up behind a gate, eventually forcing it open, before taking about 10 minutes to cross the 20-foot-wide street. He estimates it moved 300 feet in 35 minutes. As of early Tuesday, a dozen fissures, or lava vents, had opened in the area, and lava had destroyed 35 structures, the AP reports. Gov. David Ige has called the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to inform officials he believes Hawaii will require federal help. KHON reports volcanic activity has slowed and lava is no longer coming from the fissures, but officials say the danger hasn't passed yet. "This is not over," a USGS geologist tells Hawaii News Now. "There's still magma within the rift zone. In the foreseeable future, this eruption is likely to continue." (Read more Kilauea volcano stories.)